Cheng Sheng panted after their long kiss. "Da shixiong~ are you here to comfort me?" he asked Fei Yin, his voice is teasing.
"Yes." Fei Yin honestly answered and gave Cheng Sheng a kiss before he spoke again. "Seems like I don't need to?" he asked. He's not smiling but his eyes are.
"What? Am I not entitled to be comforted by da shixiong?" Cheng Sheng asked as he buried his face on Fei Yin's chest. "I am a human, you know." He told him.
The smile on Fei Yin's eyes disappeared. I'm afraid I'm not. He thought as he looked at the top of Cheng Sheng's head and planted a kiss on it. "You are. You are entitled." He told him. I'll comfort you all you want. I'll spoil you however you wanted. He thought as he looked at him. "Sheng. Do you intend to not compete anymore?" he asked him.
"Why should I continue?" Cheng Sheng's smile was replaced by a frown. He left Fei Yin's embrace. He crossed his arms on his chest and he pouted. "They insulted me first. To call me a liar… and to doubt me!" he said as he turned to Fei Yin with his eyes widened. "They even doubt my sincerity in front of everybody. How can I harm my fellow contestants?! If something happened, wasn't it just asking for me to be caught red-handed?!" he said. "Also, there are you and brother and Li-shixiong and Feng-shixiong. Not to mention Yu Sheng and Wu Xi, how can I also harm you?!" he said as his face paled in anger. His cheeks are puffed up and it's as if Fei Yin could see Cheng Sheng's head is smoking.
"Sheng…" Fei Yin called and smiled as he walked towards him and pulled him into his embrace. Then, he patted his head. "Hush, now. I get it. I understand you." He told him and hugged him tight. "Even if the world would turn against you, just remember I'll always be by our side. Okay?" he told him.
"Da shixiong… please don't raise a flag for yourself." Cheng Sheng can't help but say. However, he still laughed.
"Pft – " Fei Yin chuckled and buried his face on Cheng Sheng's hair. "I'm serious. I will always stand by you." He told him.
"Mn." Cheng Sheng answered and could feel his cheeks are burning. He hugged him back. "I won't let you leave me, either." He told him. Because I love you. He added in his heart. "But, I still won't continue joining the competition!" he said and frowned. "If they sent you to me as a honey trap, then, they… failed! Hmph!" he said and looked away from Fei Yin whom he missed to see a helpless smile on his face registered.
He's really stubborn. Fei Yin thought and chuckled. "How about I'll smile for you?" he asked.
Cheng Sheng's eyes widened. He is really tempted. "I – I'll… I'll consider it!" he said and turned to Fei Yin.
Their fellow disciples eavesdropping. "…" Cheng Sheng, you're really a talent! They thought. And Fei Yin… he'd even sell his body to Cheng Sheng! They added. Though, Fei Yin is very willing.
The next second and they heard Cheng Sheng's squeal. "AAAAAAAAH!!!" the door opened and Cheng Sheng immediately ran outside while covering his burning face.
"Cheng-shidi?!" they all exclaimed. Then, they turned to Fei Yin who calmly walked outside of Cheng Sheng's room. "…" what are you looking cold for? Tell us what happened to Cheng Sheng! They thought as they suspiciously looked at Fei Yin.
"AAAAAA – ah." Cheng Sheng muttered when he bumped into someone. He raised his head and saw Xie Lan and Wu Yuan waiting for him outside. "… founder. Wu-shixiong…" he called before he slowly turned to Fei Yin who walked towards them. "…" did Fei Yin just lure the tiger out of its mountain to be beaten by a lion1? He thought as he turned to Xie Lan who is frowning at him. I felt betrayed… and by the person I trusted the most! He thought as he glared at Fei Yin. "Founder." He called and lowered his head.
"It seems you're fine now." Xie Lan said.
"No." Cheng Sheng honestly answered.
Xie Lan speechlessly looked at Cheng Sheng. He knew Cheng Sheng really felt humiliated earlier. "Elder Jing and elder Qi don't want to apologize." He told him. As expected, they saw Cheng Sheng frowned. "However, elder Zheng already punished them by not making them appear during the last stage of the competition." He said.
Cheng Sheng's eyes brightened and he looked at Xie Lan. "Founder!" he exclaimed and hugged Xie Lan tight. "Thank you!" he said and turned to Wu Yuan. "And Wu-shixiong, too!" he added. He felt warm and very happy.
Xie Lan can't help but smile, as well as the others. It's rare for them to see this childish side of Cheng Sheng. "Will you continue to compete now?" he asked.
"That's…" Cheng Sheng said and he hesitated. Damn Fei Yin! He thought and glared at Fei Yin who had sold him his smile just to lure him out of his room and be confronted by Xie Lan and Wu Yuan. I won't now! He thought and frowned at Fei Yin before he lowered his head. He deceived me. So me reneging on our deal is fair! He thought.
Seeing Cheng Sheng fell silent, Xie Lan helplessly smiled. His disciple sure is prideful. He turned to Wu Yuan.
"Cheng Sheng." Wu Yuan called. "There'll be lots of treasures in the maze." He told him.
They clearly saw Cheng Sheng's ears popped and he slowly turned to Wu Yuan with shining eyes. "Wu-shixiong…" he called.
We knew it. That's the only way to make him move – money. They thought when they saw Cheng Sheng's face flushed in excitement and as if he was salivating.
"Cheng-shidi. That's my man. He's off-limits." Sun Yi told Cheng Sheng when Cheng Sheng stared at Wu Yuan. He immediately pulled Wu Yuan away from Cheng Sheng's sight.
Everyone turned to Fei Yin and saw his cold expression. That's what you get for playing with Cheng Sheng. They looked at him with a blaming gaze.
"I will! I will!" Cheng Sheng answered as he turned to Xie Lan.
Xie Lan speechlessly looked at his money-grubbing disciple. "Then, you can now all prepare for tomorrow's competition." He told them.
"Yes!" they answered.
Intersect Competition, last stage, first day.
Zheng Fu Gong, Pai Lie and Su Yuan who saw Cheng Sheng's bright smile. "…" he looked like he's in great spirits. That method really worked? They thought as they looked at Xie Lan and Wu Yuan. They're referring about baiting Cheng Sheng with treasures. Were we too harsh on Jing Xian and Qi Ling? Cheng Sheng looked like he easily recovered.
Cheng Sheng's eyes are shining in excitement. "Cheng-shidi. Calm down. We're not going on a vacation." Feng Mo can't help but say seeing Cheng Sheng's flushed face.
Chen Han awkwardly smiled while Li Tian placed a palm on his face. Fei Yin was emitting cold air to keep the other contestants' gaze away from Cheng Sheng while Sun Yi's smiling widely but he's sharply looking at them. Wu Xi and Yu Sheng were also staring at them, and it looked scary enough.
"Just as we're going to apologize…" Tang Zhe grimaced as he scratched his cheek when he turned to Jing Cheng and Xi Ming. "He sure has scary bodyguards." He said.
The others nodded in agreement while Kang Ce's face remained blank. His eyes fell on Xiao Le who was on the audience's side together with Shu Mu. He felt his eyes and heart hurt thus he looked away.
Zheng Fu Gong looked at all the contestants first before he spoke. "Today will be the last stage of the Intersect Competition. This stage will be held for seven days." He said as his voice reverberated in the surrounding. "The last stage will be held inside a secret realm where the maze is located. Your Cleansing Stone will react to the Cleansing Stone inside the secret realm. However, when you arrive there, all of you will be scattered." He told them.
"What?!"
"There's a reason why the Intersect Competition is held decennially." Zheng Fu Gong said.
Everyone perked their ears up to listen, but Yu Sheng suddenly felt a familiar feeling. This is… he thought as he felt his heart raced inside his chest and his blood is boiling. The Cleansing Stone on his neck started to feel hot. He slowly turned to look at Zuo Zhe and saw the young man was silently waiting for Zheng Fu Gong to speak. Suddenly, Yu Sheng realized that the surrounding became slow. Only he among everyone can normally move. This is - ! he thought.
Somewhere, Mu Jun grinned as he stared at the sky. His bitter black clothes and long black hair was fluttering. In some place, a man with golden hair and golden clothes, he looked like he's shining like the sun, was silently staring at the sky as he waited. Then, he turned to look at the two people afar who were watching the sky like him.
"It's here." A man in his fifties said when he saw something in the sky moved.
The man standing beside him who wore a conical hat and a Taoist's clothes silently nodded.
"It is because the secret realm where the Cleansing Stone was born appears only every ten years." Zheng Fu Gong spoke. His voice made Yu Sheng woke up from his thoughts.
Yu Sheng was startled and he realized everything returned to normal. This familiar feeling… he thought as he looked at Zheng Fu Gong.
"Today is the 101st time it reappears!" Zheng Fu Gong said as he looked at the sky.
Everyone also looked at the sky, but the normal people can't see. However, those who can see made a collective gasp.
Yu Sheng was stunned though when he saw what's inside the secret realm. Isn't this the Feng Hua Palace?! He exclaimed in his mind. Why is it here?! It's supposed to be in the Bailong Kingdom!